ON THIS DAY IN 2017: HANNAH COCKROFT TAKES THE 800M WORLD RECORD TO NEW LEVEL

Hannah Cockroft (coach: Jenni Banks; club: Leeds) is no stranger to setting world records. In her illustrious career to date, she has set over 30 world records, taking the T34 events, and para athletics in general, to a whole new level.

One of the defining moments of her career so far, came on the 28^th May 2017 when Cockroft lined up over the 800-metre distance in Arbon, Switzerland.

A few days earlier, the Yorkshire woman had improved her records in the 100m and 400m – the latter twice. So, a weight of expectation was on her shoulders to replicate those achievements and revise the 800m mark following an enriching four days where she had reaped the rewards of her hard work.

With the World Para Athletics Championships a few weeks away, Cockroft was laying down a marker to her opponents who she would line up against over the 100m, 400m and 800m in July.

After going under two minutes over the distance for the first time in 2016 – 1:56.89 – at a meeting in Coventry, she had matched that accomplishment twice in May 2017 before the Arbon event, in Bedford, and in Switzerland a few days earlier.

But on the 28^th May, Cockroft produced a special piece of racing, pushing to an exceptional world record of 1:55.73; a mark which still stands to this day.

It is one of the most impressive performances from Cockroft during her career so far, and she has a plethora of moments to choose from. She would go on to seal three world titles at London 2017 a few weeks later.